1998–99 Boston Celtics season

The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] Due to a lockout, the regular season began on February 5, 1999, and was cut from 82 games to 50.^[2]

1998–99 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Rick Pitino
General manager	Rick Pitino
Owner(s)	Paul Gaston
Arena	Fleet Center
Results
Record	19–31 (.380)
Place	Division: 5th (Atlantic) Conference: 12th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WABU (Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy) Fox Sports New England (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WEEI (Howard David, Cedric Maxwell)
< 1997–98 1999–00 >

This season is memorable as the Celtics received the tenth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and selected small forward Paul Pierce from the University of Kansas.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} During the off-season, the team acquired second-year center Tony Battie from the Los Angeles Lakers.^[9][10] Pierce would get off to a fast start as he was named Rookie of the Month in February. However, after a 7–7 start to the regular season, the Celtics struggled losing ten of their next eleven games. At mid-season, the team traded Andrew DeClercq to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Vitaly Potapenko.^[11][12][13] Celtics fans began to get restless with head coach Rick Pitino's slow growth,^[14] as the team finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 19–31 record.^[15]

Antoine Walker averaged 18.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while second-year star Ron Mercer averaged 17.0 points and 1.6 steals per game, and Pierce provided the team with 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and finished in third place in Rookie of the Year voting.^[16][17][18] In addition, Kenny Anderson contributed 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per game, while off the bench, sixth man Dana Barros provided with 9.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, and Battie averaged 6.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.^[19]

Following the season, Mercer was traded along with Popeye Jones to the Denver Nuggets,^{[20][21][22][23]} and Bruce Bowen signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.^[24][25]

Draft picks

Main article: 1998 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	10	Paul Pierce	SF/SG	United States	Kansas

Roster

1998–99 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 7 Kenny Anderson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1970–10–09 Georgia Tech G 11 Dana Barros 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 1967–04–13 Boston College F/C 40 Tony Battie 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1976–02–11 Texas Tech G/F 12 Bruce Bowen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1971–06–14 Cal State Fullerton F 29 Pervis Ellison (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1967–04–03 Louisville G 13 Damon Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1976–08–25 Houston F 4 Popeye Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–06–17 Murray State F 0 Walter McCarty 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1974–02–01 Kentucky G 5 Ron Mercer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1976–05–18 Kentucky G 9 Greg Minor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–09–18 Louisville F 34 Paul Pierce 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1977–10–13 Kansas C 52 Vitaly Potapenko 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1975–03–21 Wright State C 44 Eric Riley 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1970–06–02 Michigan C 55 Dwayne Schintzius 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1968–10–14 Florida F 8 Antoine Walker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1976–08–12 Kentucky

Head coach Rick Pitino Assistant(s) John Carroll Lester Conner Andy Enfield Jim O'Brien Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (IN) Inactive Injured Roster Updated: May 4, 1999

Roster Notes

• Power forward Pervis Ellison was on the injured reserve list due to an ankle injury, and missed the entire regular season.^[26]

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
c-Miami Heat	33	17	.660	–	18‍–‍7	15‍–‍10	12–8	50
x-Orlando Magic	33	17	.660	–	21‍–‍4	12‍–‍13	12–6	50
x-Philadelphia 76ers	28	22	.560	5.0	17‍–‍8	11‍–‍14	9–10	50
x-New York Knicks	27	23	.540	6.0	19‍–‍6	8‍–‍17	12–8	50
Boston Celtics	19	31	.380	14.0	10‍–‍15	9‍–‍16	10–9	50
Washington Wizards	18	32	.360	15.0	13‍–‍12	5‍–‍20	6–13	50
New Jersey Nets	16	34	.320	17.0	12‍–‍13	4‍–‍21	6–13	50

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c-Miami Heat *	33	17	.660	–	50
2	y-Indiana Pacers *	33	17	.660	–	50
3	x-Orlando Magic	33	17	.660	–	50
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	31	19	.620	2.0	50
5	x-Detroit Pistons	29	21	.580	4.0	50
6	x-Philadelphia 76ers	28	22	.560	5.0	50
7	x-Milwaukee Bucks	28	22	.560	5.0	50
8	x-New York Knicks	27	23	.540	6.0	50
9	Charlotte Hornets	26	24	.520	7.0	50
10	Toronto Raptors	23	27	.460	10.0	50
11	Cleveland Cavaliers	22	28	.440	11.0	50
12	Boston Celtics	19	31	.380	14.0	50
13	Washington Wizards	18	32	.360	15.0	50
14	New Jersey Nets	16	34	.320	17.0	50
15	Chicago Bulls	13	37	.260	20.0	50

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1998-99 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	–	3–0	3–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	2–1
Boston	0–3	–	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	3–1
Charlotte	0–3	2–1	–	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Chicago	1–3	1–2	1–2	–	0–3	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	2–1	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–2
Cleveland	1–2	2–2	1–2	3–0	–	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	0–3	0–0	1–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	3–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	1–2
Dallas	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	–	2–1	0–1	2–2	2–2	0–0	3–0	0–3	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–3	0–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	0–0	0–3	2–1	0–0
Denver	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	–	0–0	1–3	0–4	0–1	3–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–3	0–4	2–2	0–0	1–2	3–1	0–1
Detroit	2–1	3–0	0–3	3–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	–	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	2–1	2–1	0–4	1–3	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–1
Golden State	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	2–2	3–1	0–0	–	0–3	1–0	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–4	4–0	0–0
Houston	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	4–0	0–0	3–0	–	0–0	3–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–2	2–1	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–0	0–3	4–0	0–0
Indiana	1–2	3–0	2–1	3–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	–	0–0	1–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–3	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	–	0–4	0–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	0–3	0–1	1–3	1–3	0–0
L.A. Lakers	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	3–0	2–1	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–1	4–0	–	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	1–3	2–1	0–0
Miami	3–0	0–3	2–1	2–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	–	2–1	0–1	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	3–0	0–1	0–0	3–0
Milwaukee	2–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	1–2	–	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
Minnesota	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	–	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	0–1	0–3	3–1	0–0
New Jersey	2–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	0–3	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–3	1–2	0–0	–	0–3	0–3	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–1
New York	1–2	2–1	3–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	3–0	–	0–3	3–1	1–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Orlando	2–2	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	4–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–0	3–0	3–0	–	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1
Philadelphia	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	–	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2
Phoenix	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–1	3–1	3–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	–	0–3	0–3	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0
Portland	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	3–0	–	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	0–0
Sacramento	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	3–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	3–0	0–4	–	1–2	2–2	0–0	1–2	4–0	1–0
San Antonio	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	3–1	4–0	1–0	3–0	3–0	0–0	3–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	3–1	2–1	–	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–0	0–0
Seattle	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	3–0	2–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–3	2–2	2–2	1–2	–	0–0	2–2	2–1	0–1
Toronto	1–2	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	1–3	1–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	–	0–0	1–0	2–2
Utah	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	0–1	4–0	3–0	0–0	3–1	3–1	1–0	0–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	2–2	0–0	–	3–0	1–0
Vancouver	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–0	0–3	0–4	0–1	3–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–3	0–3	0–4	0–3	1–2	0–1	0–3	–	0–0
Washington	1–2	1–3	1–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	0–0	—

Game log

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Boston Celtics statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kenny Anderson	34	33	29.7	.451	.250	.832	3.0	5.7	1.0	.1	12.1
Dana Barros	50	16	23.1	.453	.400	.877	2.1	4.2	1.0	.1	9.3
Tony Battie	50	15	22.4	.519	.000	.672	6.0	1.1	.6	1.4	6.7
Bruce Bowen	30	1	16.5	.280	.269	.458	1.7	.9	.7	.3	2.3
Andrew DeClercq†	14	1	18.4	.491		.655	4.5	.7	.9	.6	5.4
Marlon Garnett	24	0	8.5	.294	.261	.750	.9	.8	.2	.0	2.1
Damon Jones†	13	0	16.4	.387	.455	.750	2.4	2.2	.5	.0	5.8
Popeye Jones	18	2	11.4	.392	.000	.824	2.9	.8	.3	.0	3.0
Walter McCarty	32	4	20.6	.362	.260	.702	3.6	1.3	.8	.4	5.7
Ron Mercer	41	40	37.8	.431	.167	.790	3.8	2.5	1.6	.3	17.0
Greg Minor	44	7	17.4	.417	.286	.750	2.7	1.1	.5	.1	4.9
Paul Pierce	48	47	34.0	.439	.412	.713	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	16.5
Vitaly Potapenko†	33	32	28.1	.521		.547	7.2	1.8	.7	.6	10.8
Eric Riley	35	11	9.6	.519		.710	2.8	.4	.3	.7	2.2
Dwayne Schintzius	16	0	4.2	.250		.750	1.2	.5	.0	.2	.7
Antoine Walker	42	41	36.9	.412	.369	.559	8.5	3.1	1.5	.7	18.7

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Celtics only.

Player Statistics Citation:^[19]

Awards and records

• Paul Pierce, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

Transactions